Power operated armrest

ABSTRACT

A power operated armrest for a vehicle seat having a seat back with a recess into and out of which the armrest moves between retracted and horizontally extended position, includes a hinge unit between the armrest and seat and a reversible motor coupled to the hinge unit to drive the armrest between retracted and extended positions.

[151 3,666,319 May 30, 1972 United States Patent Moloney, Jr.

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Jr Sazavsky wwuuw 7'863 73844 3 789 76266 2 .1 33333 PrimaryExaminer-Francis K. Zugel Az1orneyKinzer, Dom and Zickert 21 Appl. No.:65,924

ABSTRACT [51] Int.Cl.......

A power operated armrest for a vehicle seat having a seat back h arecess into and out of which the armrest moves between and horizontallyextended position, includes a hinge ween the armrest and seat and areversible motor c the hinge unit to drive the armrest between rouetracted unit bet pled to References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS andextended positions.

4 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures 2,714,419 Killington l3 g INVE VT EARLE F'.MOLON POWER OPERATED ARMREST This invention relates in general to afoldable armrest for a vehicle seat, and more particularly to an armrestmovable between a retracted position flush with the seat back and ahorizontal position extending from the seat back, and still moreparticularly to a power operated armrest.

I-Ieretofore, it has been known to have folding armrests in vehiclesassociated with a seat, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,168,346and 3,191,995. Both patents illustrate annrests capable of being foldedinto the seat cushion. However, the folding operation is manuallycontrolled.

With the advent of more emphasis being placed on safety in theconstruction and operation of vehicles, especially passengerautomobiles, many safety devices have been developed. It can beappreciated that manually controlling the position of a folding armrestin the front seat of a vehicle by the driver when in motion requiresdiverting attention of the driver from the driving function, which ishazardous. The present invention overcomes this problem in providing afolding armrest that can be moved under power in response to the mereoperation of a button or switch, thereby enhancing the safety of thedriving operation.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved folding armrest for a vehicle such as a passenger automobile,wherein power means is provided for controlling the armrest movements.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like reference numerals referto like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the power operated armrestaccording to the invention showing parts of the seat in which it ismounted in section, and'illustrating the armrest in the up position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating the armrest in thedown position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the mechanism supporting and operating thearmrest;

FIG. 4 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of the drive shaft asremoved from the assembly;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the drive shaft of FIG. 6 and illustrating thecoaction of one of the hinge bars with the end of the drive shaft;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary detailed plan view of one end of the driveshaft, showing some parts in section, and illustrating the assembly ofthe drive shaft relative to the hinge plate bearing and the hinge bar;

FIG. 9 is an end elevational view of the drive shaft assembly of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the interior of the passenger vehiclehaving a folding armrest, and illustrating the armrest in the down orextended position; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of the armrest and seat shownin FIG. 10 and illustrating the armrest in the up or retracted position.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 10 and 11, aseat assembly 15 is illustrated within a passenger vehicle 16, and whichincludes a folding armrest 17. The seat assembly 15 includes generally ahorizontal seat portion 18 and an upstanding seat back 19. A forwardlyfacing recess is provided in the seat back 19 into which the armrest 17may be moved or retracted to a flush position with the seat back asshown in FIG. 11, the armrest being shown in the down or extendedposition as shown in FIG. 10. Accordingly, when the armrest is in the upposition as seen in FIG. 1 1, it will be in use, and when it is in thedown or extended position as shown in FIG. 10, it can then be used byeither the driver or a passenger on the passenger side.

While the folding armrest can be utilized in the front or back seats ofa vehicle, the present application is primarily concerned with use ofthe folding armrest in the front seat, wherein the position of thearmrest is controlled by the vehicle driver.

The mechanism of the invention for mounting the armrest and foroperating the armrest between retracted and extended positions includesgenerally a hinge plate unit 25 mounted in fixed position on the seat15, a hinge plate unit 26 secured to the armrest 17, a set of hinge bars27 extending between the hinge plate units 25 and 26, and amotor-reduction gear assembly 28 carried on the armrest.

The hinge plate unit 25 includes parallel spaced and opposed hingeplates 29 and 30 interconnected by a cross plate 31. Mounting flanges 32and 33 extend from the lower ends of the hinge plates 29 and 30,respectively, and are adapted to be set upon angle bars 34 which are inturn connected to the frame of the seat assembly 15. Suitable fasteners35 anchor the hinge plate unit 25 to the seat by securing the mountingflanges 32 and 33 to the angle bars 34. Accordingly, the hinge plateunit 25 defines upstanding hinge plates 29 and 30 to which the set ofhinge bars 27 may be pivotally connected.

The hinge plate unit 26 includes spaced armrest hinge plates 36 and 37fastened to the frame of the armrest by fasteners 38. The hinge plates36 and 37 respectively include mounting flanges 39 and 40 which aresecured to the armrest and hinge plate portions 41 and 42 that providefor the pivotal connection of the set of hinge bars.

A metal pan 45 extends between the armrest hinge plates 36 and 37, andwith the hinge plates is fastened to the armrest to further providereinforcing of the hinged mounting to the armrest. Additionally, a crossbar 46 extends between the flanges 39 and 40 of the armrest hinge platesto reinforce the mounting arrangement.

The set of hinge bars includes an identical pair of upper hinge bars 50and identical pair of lower hinge bars 51. Each of the bars arepivotally connected at opposite ends to the seat hinge plate and thearmrest hinge plates. The u per pair of hinge bars 50 are pivotallyconnected at one end at the upper ends of the hinge plates 29 and 30,and pivotally connected at the other end to one end of the hinge plateportions 41 and 42. Similarly, the lower plate and hinge bars 51 arepivotally connected at one end to the seat hinge plates 29 and 30 at apoint below the pivotal connection of the upper hinge bars 50, andpivotally connected at their other ends to the armrest hinge plates 41and 42, at a point spaced from the pivotal connections of the upperhinge bars 50. The pivotal connections of the hinge bars to the hingeplates are such, as shown particularly in FIGS. 1 and 2, that thearmrest 17 will fold into the recess 20 flush with the seat back when inthe up or retracted position, FIG. 1, and will extend substantiallyhorizontally when in the down or extended position, FIG. 2, for use asan armrest.

The motor-reduction gear assembly 28 is mounted on the armrest 17 withits output connected to the ends of the hinge bars 50 at the armrestthrough a drive shaft 55. In this respect the hinge bars are notpivotally connected to the armrest hinge plates like the lower hingebars, although they pivot relative the hinge bars. The drive shaft isjoumalled in the hinge plates 41 and 42, and provided at its ends withflatted portions 56 that mate with sockets 57 formed in the ends of thehinge bars 50 so that the drive shaft will not rotate relative to thehinge bars but will cause transmission of a force generated through themotor-reduction gear assembly 28 to be applied to the armrest. The endsof the drive shaft are provided with a tapped bore 58 for receiving afastener 59 that holds the hinge bars in place on the ends of the driveshaft. To further prevent lateral shifting of the drive shaft 55, a ringgroove 60 is provided at each end spaced inwardly of the end to receivea retaining ring 61, FIGS. 6 to 8, the retaining ring being on the innerside of the hinge plates.

The motor-reduction gear assembly 28 includes a reduction gear 62 and areversible motor 63.

The drive shaft 55 is suitably coupled to the output of the reductiongear 62, and the input to the reduction gear is connected to the shaftof the reversible motor 63. in order to prevent rotation of themotor-reduction gear assembly about the drive shaft 55, a retainingstrap 64 is secured at one end to the reduction gear 62 by the fastener65, and at the other end to the metal pan 45 by fastener 66.Accordingly, energization of the motor 63 imparts a force throughreduction gear 62 and the drive shaft 55 to the hinge bars 50 and thearmrest hinge plates 36 and 37 to cause rotation of the drive shaftrelative the hinge plates and movement of the armrest between retractedor up position and extended or down position. While the motor-reductiongear assembly is shown mounted on the armrest, it should be appreciatedthat it could be mounted on the seat and impart a force through a driveshaft and through the hinge bars 50 or 51 to cause the armrest to movebetween retracted and extended positions.

While not shown, it should be appreciated that a control button orswitch for operating the motor 63 may be located on a console mounted onthe adjacent door, adjacent the steering wheel, or on the dash, and inany event it would be mounted in a convenient location for easy accessby the driver.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention, but it is understood that this application is to be limitedonly by the scope of the appended claims.

This invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A power operated armrest for a seat in a vehicle, wherein the seatincludes a seat back having a forwardly facing recess into and out ofwhich the armrest is movable between a retracted position flush with theseat back and a generally horizontal position extending forwardly fromsaid seat back, said armrest comprising, an armrest, a hinge mount fixedto the seat within the recess, a hinge mount fixed to the armrest andmovable therewith, first and second pairs of hinge bars hingedlymounting the armrest hinge mount to the seat hinge mount, a reversiblemotor fixed to said armrest hinge mount, a motor shaft for the motor, areduction gear assembly having its input connected to the motor shaftand its output connected to a drive shaft journalled in said armresthinge mount, and means keying the drive shaft to one of the pairs ofhinge bars to prevent relative rotation therewith, whereby energizationof the motor drives the drive shaft with the hinge bar keyed theretorelative to the armrest hinge mount and causes rotation between theother hinge bars relative to the armrest hinge mount and movement of thearmrest between retracted and horizontal positions.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein the pivot points on saidseat hinge mount of said first pair of hinge bars are vertically spacedabove the pivot points of the second pair of hinge bars.

3. The combination defined in claim 2, wherein the pivot points on saidarmrest hinge mount of said first pair of binge bars are verticallyspaced above the pivot points of the second pair of hinge bars when thearmrest is in retracted position.

4. The combination defined in claim 3, wherein the pivot points of thefirst and second pairs of hinge bars are spaced further apart on theseat hinge mount than on the armrest hinge mount.

1. A power operated armrest for a seat in a vehicle, wherein the seatincludes a seat back having a forwardly facing recess into and out ofwhich the armrest is movable between a retracted position flush with theseat back and a generally horizontal position extending forwardly fromsaid seat back, said armrest comprising, an armrest, a hinge mount fixedto the seat within the recess, a hinge mount fixed to the armrest andmovable therewith, first and second pairs of hinge bars hingedlymounting the armrest hinge mount to the seat hinge mount, a reversiblemotor fixed to said armrest hinge mount, a motor shaft for the motor, areduction gear assembly having its input connected to the motor shaftand its output connected to a drive shaft journalled in said armresthinge mount, and means keying the drive shaft to one of the pairs ofhinge bars to prevent relative rotation therewith, whereby energizationof the motor drives the drive shaft with the hinge bar keyed theretorelative to the armrest hinge mount and causes rotation between theother hinge bars relative to the armrest hinge mount and movement of thearmrest between retracted and horizontal positions.
 2. The combinationdefined in claim 1, wherein the pivot points on said seat hinge mount ofsaid first pair of hinge bars are vertically spaced above the piVotpoints of the second pair of hinge bars.
 3. The combination defined inclaim 2, wherein the pivot points on said armrest hinge mount of saidfirst pair of hinge bars are vertically spaced above the pivot points ofthe second pair of hinge bars when the armrest is in retracted position.4. The combination defined in claim 3, wherein the pivot points of thefirst and second pairs of hinge bars are spaced further apart on theseat hinge mount than on the armrest hinge mount.